


The End That Was The Beginning

by naasad



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Agent Carolina & Agent Washington are Siblings, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Happy Ending, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 08:56:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18117515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/naasad/pseuds/naasad
Summary: Epsilon wakes up.~"Is Agent Washington still alive?" Delta asked.Epsilon nodded frantically. "David, yes. David is here. He's - he's sleeping. I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to do it. I have to fix it, then he can wake up." He glanced at Carolina. "I gave him a dream. A good one. It has cats in it. I'm fixing it. Please. Please believe me."The entire room fell still, even as Wyoming and Maine were admitted behind them."I believe you," Theta said quietly.Epsilon's gaze landed on him and he relaxed, nearly falling into York's arms. "You believe me?"Theta nodded. "Yes. I believe you."Epsilon sighed with relief. "We have to get Alpha.""I'll go find him," Carolina promised. "You rest now. Fix what you broke."Epsilon nodded, letting York lead him back to the bed. "I can do that," he said. "I can do that."





	The End That Was The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> My 200th fic, yay!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉
> 
> Please review at the end! I've turned on comment moderation because of that one ass we all know and hate, but I'd still love to hear from you!

North leaned over the bed, holding Wash's wrist loosely in one hand.

 _I think he's not okay,_ Theta said in the back of his mind.

"What do you mean 'some kind of breakdown'?" Carolina snarled at the Counselor.

"Agent Carolina." The Director stared her down.

York stood from where he sat at Wash's other side. "No, sir. We all want to know."

"It's classified medical information," the Counselor said sternly.

North closed his eyes. _Don't do it, York. Don't be a dumbass, don't get us locked up away from him._

"I'm his husband."

The Counselor dropped his clipboard.

Carolina looked around so fast she should have had whiplash.

"Excuse me?" the Director bellowed.

 _He's waking up,_ Theta reported.

Wash whimpered and curled into a ball on his side, fingers twitching over North's hand.

"You heard me," York snapped. Without a doubt, his single eye would be blazing with fury.

North smiled softly and ran his thumb over Wash's knuckles. "Are you awake?"

"When?"

At that single word from the Director, Wash's eyes flew open, and North had just enough time to note their blinding blue color before he was violently tossed away.

His head smacked on something nearby and he only distantly registered Theta's concern and the sounds of a fight.

"North?" Carolina called.

He stood, shaking away the last of the fog. "I'm alright."

The director was not. His lip was split, his nose was bloody, and his throat was swollen and starting to bruise.

Wash was being held back by both Carolina and York, and he was struggling.

"What happened?"

"Yes, indeed," the Counselor said, making notes. "Agent Washington? How do you feel?"

"You _hurt_ us!" Wash screamed.

For a moment, the Director looked shocked, but the moment quickly passed. "Epsilon. Retreat back into your host."

"You _hurt_ us!" Epsilon repeated. "You _used_ us! You _tortured_ us! You, and - and -" He screamed wordlessly.

The lights flickered on and off, the ship listing to one side as the power core and artificial gravity fluctuated.

"Sigma, Gamma, Omega," Epsilon chanted, clutching at his head. "Sigma, Gamma, Omega, Sigma, Gamma, Omega, Sigma, Gamma, Omega, Sigma...."

"What the hell?" The Counselor glanced around in awe and terror.

"Focus on the patient, Counselor," the Director snapped.

There was a thin electronic wail as Omega, Sigma, and Gamma appeared in the infirmary.

"What are you doing?"

Their forms distorted, pixellated, and then were torn apart.

Epsilon snarled, blood dripping from Wash's nose. "You. Hurt us. _Sis_ ," he begged, looking at Carolina, "he hurt us."

Carolina frowned, then nodded and stepped away, putting herself within arm's reach of the Director. A single punch knocked him prone.

Everything stopped.

"Take him to the brig," she ordered the nearby soldiers. "Just until we know more."

York moved in front of Wash as the Director was carted away, cupping his face in his hands. "Darlin'? Can you hear me?"

"Let me try," Delta said, appearing over his shoulder. "Epsilon. Please tell us what you mean."

Epsilon stared at his sibling A.I. for a long moment before coming to a decision and nodding to himself. "Alpha," he said, quietly.

"What about Alpha?"

"They tortured him. To make us. He shed us to survive. Logic because what was happening couldn't be computed. Trust because they broke it. Creativity, Deceit, Rage." Epsilon paused and tilted his head. "Memory."

"Interesting," the Counselor murmured.

Carolina shot him a glare.

"Is Agent Washington still alive?" Delta asked.

Epsilon nodded frantically. "David, yes. David is here. He's - he's sleeping. I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to do it. I have to fix it, then he can wake up." He glanced at Carolina. "I gave him a dream. A good one. It has cats in it. I'm fixing it. Please. Please believe me."

The entire room fell still, even as Wyoming and Maine were admitted behind them.

"I believe you," Theta said quietly.

Epsilon's gaze landed on him and he relaxed, nearly falling into York's arms. "You believe me?"

Theta nodded. "Yes. I believe you."

Epsilon sighed with relief. "We have to get Alpha."

"I'll go find him," Carolina promised. "You rest now. Fix what you broke."

Epsilon nodded, letting York lead him back to the bed. "I can do that," he said. "I can do that."

North hovered as the medics sedated him, then sat back down, reaching for his hand again. "It'll be okay," he whispered, pressing a kiss to the back of it.

The blue went out of Wash's eyes, and he slept.

"Husband, huh?" Carolina asked.

York lifted his chin defiantly. "Yes. All three of us, last shore leave."

Carolina nodded slowly. "Make sure he feels loved," she ordered.

 

* * *

 

Wash woke again a few days later. Blood flowed from his nose when he sat up and North rushed to grab a towel. "Easy there."

Delta popped into existence over the sound of York's snores. "How much of you is Epsilon and how much of you is Agent Washington?"

"Let him breathe!" Theta insisted.

Wash pushed away North's hand and the towel. "I'm fine. And I - I don't know. Seventy-thirty? In my favor. What happened?"

"We're still investigating," North said, running his fingers through his husband's hair. "Well, Carolina and Texas are. York and I have been here the whole time. The Director's locked up for now, though, and the Counselor with him as of yesterday."

"Tex and Lina are working together? How long was I out?"

North chuckled. "Only a few days this time. A week and a half total." He held up the towel. "Let me wipe that gunk off your face so I can kiss you."

Wash smiled softly and tilted his chin up.

"Besides," North said, gently dabbing at his nose, lips, and chin, "it turns out that Tex is - kind of -" he grimaced "- your mom."

Wash stopped him with a hand on his wrist. "My mom is dead."

"Hence the kind of." North gently pushed Wash's hand away and continued cleaning his face. "She's an A.I. fragment. Epsilon can probably explain it to you better than I can, but basically, the Alpha was the original full A.I., based on your dad. All the fragments came from him. But Tex was what gave him the idea."

"She split because she's the memory of my mom and was so strong," Wash finished.

North nodded, focused intently on cleaning off the last of the blood. "There we go." He smiled and leaned down for a kiss. "I missed you."

"Me, too," Wash said quietly. "Cuddle me?"

North grinned and crawled in next to him, his feet dangling off the end. "Wake up that big lug and we'll see how many people can fit in one of these."

Wash smiled and rolled over, pushing at York's shoulder. "York."

North wrapped an arm around his waist, and Delta disappeared.

" _Jim_ ," Wash said, louder, pushing again.

York startled awake, rubbing at his eye. He beamed when he saw Wash awake. "Are we cuddling?"

"Come here," North said, dragging him onto the bed and wrapping his arms around them both, squishing Wash in the process.

Wash giggled as his lovers pressed kisses to his face and shoulders, but fell silent and tense when they neared his implants.

"It's okay," North murmured, running a hand down his arm and nestling his nose in his hair. "We're here."

"I love you," Wash said, out of the blue. "I keep thinking what would've happened if I never told you and something happened and - I love you. I love you both."

North and York exchanged a look.

"You don't have to say it back."

York snorted back a laugh.

North smacked him upside the head.

"No, no, no, I'm sorry. I'm being serious now." York cleared his throat and giggled one last time. "We got married before we said 'I love you'."

Wash's lips twitched at the corners.

North shook his head fondly. "We love you, too, Darling."

 

* * *

 

Wash woke with a start, gasping in lungfuls of air.

“Easy,” Carolina murmured, pushing him back down. “David?”

Wash nodded, glancing around wildly. “Where are-?”

“We needed Theta and Delta with the Alpha. They’ll be back soon.”

Wash sighed and nodded, relaxing back into the pillows.

“So, you got married.”

“Yeah. Sorry I didn’t invite you.”

Carolina shrugged, looking down at her hands. “Yeah, well, I was busy with less important things.”

“No.” Wash grabbed her shoulder and squeezed. “They’re not less important if they’re important to you.”

Carolina laughed bitterly and ran her hands through her hair. “But they shouldn’t have been. He played me like a damn fool, just like always.”

“It’s okay.”

“Stop saying that!” Carolina stood, jaw and fists clenched. “It’s not okay, Day! I left you behind! The one thing I promised I would never do! And maybe – I don’t know, maybe if I hadn’t taken Eta and Iota - ˮ

Epsilon flickered to life above Wash’s head. “I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if I had been implanted in Agent Florida. He probably would’ve just murdered you all.”

Wash looked up at his A.I., then turned back to Carolina, one eyebrow raised.

Carolina sighed and relaxed, coming back to sit down, perched on the edge of the bed. “Yeah.”

“Trust me,” Wash said, “we ran the numbers. Out of all the agents, including those deceased or missing, I’m glad it was me.” He paused and tilted his head. “Did we really kill Sigma, Gamma, and Omega?”

Carolina shook her head in awe. “You did. Everyone’s still trying to figure out how.”

Wash shrugged. “I don’t know. How are - ˮ

“I don’t know.” Carolina sighed and pulled one knee up to her chest. “Everything’s gotten so complicated, Wash. Wyoming swears right before it happened Maine was sneaking up behind him to kill him. Maine says it was Sigma, that Sigma’s been controlling him for months. I don’t know what to do. And there’s still dad to figure out.” She groaned and buried her face in her hands. “We have enough to lock him up forever, and he definitely deserves it, but he’s our _dad_ , and I just….” She took a deep breath and shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Come here,” Wash said, wrapping his arms around his sister’s waist and pressing his face into her hip. “You’ll figure it out.”

Carolina ran her fingers through his hair. “Tex is mom.”

Wash nodded. “Kind of. She’s dad’s memory of mom. It’s no wonder you two didn’t get along.”

“Hm?”

“Oh, you remember him going on and on and on about how much like her you are.”

Carolina paused, then continued scratching his head. “Never to my face.”

“Oh.”

The two sat in silence for a long time.

“You know,” Wash said softly, “we have my memories, Epsilon’s memories, Alpha’s memories, and - ˮ

“And dad’s memories?” Carolina made a face.

“Oh, they’re safely locked behind a firewall now,” Epsilon said, “don’t worry.”

“Well, yeah,” Wash said. “But maybe… maybe we could use them to find out what she was really like.”

Carolina frowned in thought. “I don’t – I don’t know. I know I’ve been saying that a lot lately, but I really don’t.”

Wash squeezed her a bit tighter. “It’s okay to not know.”

“There’s the rest of my favorite people!” York crowed as he walked through the door.

Carolina pulled away, and Wash winced at the volume.

“How did it go?” Carolina asked.

North shared a look with Theta, then nodded. “He’s traumatized, but with time, he’ll be okay. I do think we should find him a host though.”

“I’ll do it,” Carolina said. “Wyoming and South can have Eta and Iota. I don’t think Maine will want another A.I. after his experience with Sigma.”

“No,” Epsilon said. “Hell, no, that’s a bad idea on so many levels.”

“Why?” York asked. “Sounds like a solid plan to me.”

Epsilon turned to Carolina. “You still haven’t figured it out yet? Eta and Iota are his memories of you and Wash as kids.”

“And we were the first memories to go?” Carolina asked.

“No. Well, kind of. Only because you were the strongest ones.”

 Carolina sighed.

“But, seriously. Would you inflict any of the others on those poor kids?”

Carolina shook her head. “Then what do we do?”

Wash clicked his tongue. “Give Alpha to South.”

York stared for a long moment, then turned to Carolina. “Is he still crazy?”

Wash huffed and rolled his eyes, shoving himself into a sitting position. “Sometimes I wonder why I married you.”

York clutched his heart and fell over with a wounded expression.

North and Carolina pinched the bridges of their noses and sighed practically in unison.

“Okay, but listen,” Wash said. “If you phrase it as a challenge – to see if she can be as caring and kind as North – then she’ll take it.”

“I don’t like the position this puts me in,” North said.

“What? The position of advice-giver? Once she gets over herself, I mean, ‘cause she is really bad at this kind of thing. But then with the way she is and the way Alpha was, once he gets better, they’ll be perfect for each other.”

York glanced at the others. “We have no choice but to trust you, do we?”

“Trust _me_ ,” Delta said. “I’ve run the same scenarios as I presume Epsilon has, and I have arrived at the same conclusion. It would be better for all parties if Agent South were the one to host the Alpha. The only other remotely viable candidate is Agent Texas, and I do believe it is her wish to explore her own personhood. Giving her the responsibility of another would surely be counterproductive to that end.”

Carolina looked around, thinking hard. “Alright. We’ll take a vote to be sure, but it sounds like a plan.”

“There’s….” Wash cleared his throat. “There’s one more thing I want to do.”

 

* * *

 

 

Carolina leaned against the wall, observing.

“Hi, dad.”

Leonard paused in his pacing his cell. “Have you come to your senses and decided to release me, Agent Washington?”

Wash shook his head. “We’re going to take a vote on what to do with you. Releasing you isn’t in any of our plans.

Leonard huffed.

“I came to say good-bye. I know you hated me, but… Well, you’re my dad.”

“I wouldn’t waste your time.”

“Okay,” Wash said quietly. “Okay. I won’t.” He turned and walked away, leaving the Director to gape.

As he rounded the corner out of sight, Epsilon appeared. “That hurt.”

“Yeah.” Wash scuffed his feet as he wandered through the halls.

Carolina came up beside him. “I have never seen him speechless like that before.”

Wash smiled sadly.

“Do you want me to call your husbands?”

“Not yet.” Wash stopped by a window and stared out at the stars. “Give me ten minutes, then they can cuddle the fuck out of me.”

Carolina put a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll be fine without him.”

Wash nodded. “I know.”


End file.
